Mr. Sticky Lives Here

His manners are appalling. Every time I help him tidy up the boys do their part to coax him back into his former ways. I am confident in saying that he will be forever sticky. Yes, he is quite unchangeable. 
Oh well.

Facing Off

She said, "Brother, gimme that tiger."

He said, "Sissy, you can look but you cannot taste."

She said, "You just wait 'till I can crawl."

Maple Trees and Wind

As we headed out the door this morning {our first truly crisp autumn morning} Little Brother exclaimed, "Mommy, I like fall. It feels good and it smells good. It smells like maple trees and wind."
I couldn't have described it better myself.

Progress

This isn't a new piece of abstract art.
It's the foundation of our house, which is currently serving as our floor.


The professor pulled out our carpet this past weekend!


For now, we're living life on a concrete slab...While happily anticipating hardwood floors -- sooner rather than later!

Immanuel, God With Us

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel -- which means, "God with us."

Matthew 1:23

"Oh, hello friends..."

{25 weeks old}

September Afternoon

Still counting sweet blessings...

111. Boys rope swinging in the sunshine.

112. Time to clean and shine the kitchen sink.

113. A husband who makes quick trips to Kroger for me... at night... without complaint.

114. Watching Baby play with her hands.

115. New shoes.

116. Sarah, the sweet fourth grade girl who plays with Little Brother at the soccer field.

117. The first day of fall.

118. Big Brother scoring a goal.

119. My sisters.

120. Watching Little Brother's friendly personality in action.

Highball on Glass

He sips ice water from a highball every evening.

He casually places it on the table before going to bed.

I wake and see the highball in the morning light.

I smile and reach for the camera.

Peach Preservin'

I never grow tired of eating fresh peaches but come the middle of September my tastes turn to all things apple and cinnamon. There's something about late summer peaches that beg to be preserved. They're big and sort of juicy, somewhat sweet but just a little bit tart... perfect for puttin' up.

It's a nice feeling... knowing that when the cold, gray days of winter arrive I'll be able to open or give away little jars of summer sunshine that taste just like July.

Sabbath Rest

O day of rest and gladness, O day of joy and light,

O balm of care and sadness, Most beautiful, most bright...

Christopher Wadsworth

With morning worship and lunch behind us the boys and I rode our bikes. {What fun we'll have when Sister is big enough to ride in the baby seat and we can all go together!} To cool off {we're still having highs in the upper nineties, it's an endless summer} the men watched Wipeout which utterly fascinated the boys. I settled down to this business of learning to crochet... an endeavor that is completely motivated by the shoes, I might add. Baby Sister played with the yarn like a kitten. It was restful.

Jesus said to them,

"The Sabbath was made for man,

and not man for the Sabbath."

Mark 2:27

El Yeshuatenu, The God of Our Salvation

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,

The God who is our salvation. Selah.

Psalm 68:19

His First Show and Tell

Catching Up

Aperture tells me that there are exactly 2544 images in our 2010 project folder. I'm pretty sure that 85% of them are mine. That's more than a little crazy. I think I need to do a better job of deleting the bad shots... at least that's what the professor tells me.

So, tonight you're being treated to a random image dump because my photography habit has outpaced my blogging habit and I need to catch up.

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This little guy is an azalea caterpillar. Ya'll, he ate one of my azaleas! He ate the whole bush. In an effort to save the shrub the boys caught him for me, but they accidentally left him in the bright sun for too long. He roasted. At least the rest of my azaleas are saved.

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I pack a lot of lunches. Yesterday I pre-packed enough food to fill Big Brother's lunch bag every day for two weeks. I can't tell you how satisfying that feels.

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There's so much I'm thankful for these days:

101. Dappled sunlight.

102. Driving with the windows down and the sunroof open.

103. Helping Little Brother slowly conquer his bicycle fears.

104. Our wonderful speech therapist who is so kind and encourages so much.

105. Sitting in the breezy shade at the soccer field.

106. Pleasant conversation.

107. An afternoon spent with the boys on their bikes and the baby in the stroller.

108. Late summer peaches. I think I'll make jam soon.

109. The first tiny glimpses of autumn.

110. Watching the professor enjoy college football.

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I love Wednesdays because Little Brother doesn't go to school. We have time to do fun things together. Sometimes, while I feed the baby, I let him play on Starfall. He has learned how to sound out words and is doing some simple reading. This morning he wrote "car" on a piece of paper and told me that is what he's going to give me. I'll take it!

He likes to eat M&M's, and he always saves the blues ones for last. I remember when blue M&M's were introduced. Do you?

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I love this recent photo of the Strawberry Girl. The little lamb is her favorite toy; tonight I found her chewing on his tail. He plays "Jesus Loves Me" and she grins whenever she hears it. I hope that the unfailing love of Jesus always makes her smile. She is taking our afternoons at the soccer field in stride, so content and happy. What a blessing!

I think I need to give knitting another try. Now that the weather is cooling off I like the idea. Knitting seems like a cold weather activity to me. I hope I can get comfortable enough with it to actually enjoy it. And, I think I should learn to crochet because Baby Sister needs some shoes like these. Yummy.

Behind Me & Before Me

Behind me...

Before me...

In the carpool line.

Old Books

Rescued from the "discard" pile.

Of Little Men and Lost Boys

Recently, it seems, we've had a number of discussions about what it takes to be fine young men. To be quite frank, these conversations have been met with some resistance.

I'm noticing, however, that when life calls for my lost boys to become little men they are capable of delivering {at least for a short while and with sufficient reminders}.

When they've endured long enough... quietly sitting still and such... I'm as eager as they are for them to return to Never Never Land and the adventures of boyhood.

El-Kanno, The Jealous God

Do not worship any other god,

for the Lord, whose name is Jealous,

is a jealous God.

Exodus 34:14

Productive Eating

These days I'm hungry all the time. And so I eat...

{23 weeks old}

Because there's a luscious lump of baby who slurps down what seems to be 90% of my caloric intake.

And then I eat some more.

I'm telling ya' it's a real tough duty...

But, a mother has to do what she must to maintain rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes, and juicy, juicy thighs.

Blessings Abound...

{our parents}

91. Humble, Godly parents.

92. Listening to Little Brother sing.

93. Mornings cool enough for open windows. Fresh air in the house!

94. Late night peaking at my children as they peacefully sleep.

95. Canadian geese honking and heralding autumn.

96. Wagon coasting down a neighborhood hill with the boys. Simple Labor Day fun for all of us.

97. A new friend with whom to share school pick-up duty.

98. Soccer season, and confirmation that we should be a part of it.

99. The professor's faithful, servant leadership.

100. Big Brother's recent acts of selflessness and responsibility.

A Fresh Perspective

Making my way down the hall I paused at Baby Sister's bedroom door with a listening ear when my eyes fell on a new view of the dining room. After five years of living in this house I thought I had noticed all there was to be seen within these walls, but {just as in life} a fresh new perspective from time to time can surprise and delight.

Smiley Cakes

With an August 1 birthday, Big Brother has never celebrated his special day with his classmates at school. This year he has a teacher who loves birthdays and wants each child to feel special on their day so she invited him to share cupcakes with the class sometime during the first week of school. He was very excited.

While I was envisioning chic little cakes with creative toppings {think Real Simple cupcake designs}, my school boy knew exactly what he wanted... yellow cake, chocolate icing, and smiley faces.

Little Brother and I baked the cupcakes one morning. He insisted on slowly and carefully filling each cup himself while I reminded myself that love suffers long.

That afternoon the boys had fun making happy cake faces using mini M&M's and Twizzlers. Packed for transport, Big Brother took them to school the next day. I am told they were a big hit. It made me happy to watch his excitement and pride in creating his own cupcake design... which turned out to be real simple after all.

El Hannora, The Awesome God

You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;

the God of Israel gives power and strength to His people.

Praise be to God!

Psalm 68:35

Come and see what God has done,

how awesome His works in man's behalf!

Psalm 66:5

Five Months Old

{Thank you, Bunny and Pop, for the beautiful vintage christening gown}

How can it be? You're five months old today!

You weigh exactly 14 pounds.

You are a sweet delight to our family.

There's no doubt, you are our Strawberry Girl!

Look, you found your little pink toes!

Your baptism this past Sunday was a special day for us as we claimed God's covenant promises. We prayerfully wait with faith for the day when, by God's mercy and grace, you look to Him for salvation.

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. Genesis 17:7

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off --

for all whom the Lord our God will call.

Acts 2:39

A special thanks to our friend, Will G., for discreetly capturing these moments.

Reconnecting

It's written and true, "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away..." However, the ebb and flow of life's demands can certainly prove to be love's distraction.

I had a meltdown one night last week. With the professor mostly away for five weeks this summer combined with parenting, caring for the baby, school starting, the beginning of fall semester on campus {always a busy time}, and church obligations we were physically and emotionally exhausted.

"I feel as though we grunt out the same conversations to each other every morning and every evening," I cried. Somewhere, somehow in the midst of life happening we lost sight of us. We weren't enjoying each other and we weren't connecting.

The professor was quick to arrange an evening out for the two of us. Over dinner and conversation we realized afresh how important it is to be intentional about when and how we spend time together. {Frosty, fruity drinks and heart-to-heart talks after the children are asleep works nicely} Afterall, if we don't take care of us how can we properly care for everyone and everything else?

Of most importance, as we reconnect we remember and acknowledge the One who brought us together and on Whom is our foundation. Without His grace upon grace we'll certainly fail.

And so... when we're up every two hours in the night with a sick child, when work and home demands overwhelm us, when Baby is being high maintenance, when the washing machine backs up and overflows, when homework is forgotten {and that's all just in the past 24 hours!} we, by His grace, won't get lost in the flood.